A Little Tenderness
by Reckless Dreamer Yuna
Summary: Kagome's gets very weary, and Inuyasha shows her tenderness. It's just what she needs.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I own Try A Little Tenderness.**

**A Little Tenderness**

_You won't regret it, no, no. Some girls, they don't forget it. Love is their only happiness, yeah. But it's all so easy, all you gotta do, is try a little tenderness, yeah. All you gotta do is, man, hold her where you want her. - __**Otis Redding, Try A Little Tenderness**_

It wasn't like she was tired of her friends. They kept her going. But have you ever just been so tired, and you couldn't exactly figure out why? It was like some gravitational force pulling her down, and the sad thing was that she wasn't strong enough to fight off this feeling.

She was in his world again, a world that didn't quite make sense to her, but it wasn't like her world made any sense to him, either. She was in a world that wasn't her own, but she was used to it now. Used to the bruises, the cuts, the demons, the fights, the worry, the struggles, the arguments.

Sometimes, she needed to feel like it was real. She felt as if she needed verification. She felt as if she needed to know she was worth something, felt as if she needed to know that she meant something.

She knew it was going to be a long and restless night when the soul collectors had made their presence. He'd waited till he thought she was asleep, and she did this just for him, she made her breathing real deep and real slow and real steady, her ears anticipating his movements.

And she had followed him, even though she knew that she shouldn't have, even though she knew that the words Inuyasha would say to Kikyo would break her heart. She had wondered what it would be this time. I'll protect you, I'll die for you, _I need you_...

But this time, what she heard was final.

_Oh, she may be weary_

_Young girls they do get weary_

_Wearing that same old shaggy dress, yeah yeah_

_But when she gets weary_

_Try a little tenderness, yeah yeah_

"_I love you." _How strange it felt to hear the one you love saying it to someone else. She swore to god, there was nothing in his world or even her own world that could compare to it. _I love you_. Three simple words, but they changed a lot of things, didn't they? Wasn't it the closest thing to magic? Love? Oh, it wasn't the type of love she felt towards Shippo, motherly. Not the kind she felt toward Sango, sisterly. Not the kind she felt toward Miroku, friendly. Not the kind she felt toward Souta. Not what she felt toward Mama, Yuki, Eri, Ayumi, Jii-chan.

No.

No, this was intimate love. He said it with such a look in his eyes that tears burned her eyes right away, just water wasted. Just feelings wasted. Just three years tossed away, it felt like. And she'd thought it had gotten better. It hadn't.

No. This was stealing fire from the heavens. She began to think about what he'd done the first time he saw her. Had Kikyo been standing in the sun that looked like his eyes? Had his heart melted when he'd seen her? Did he want her to look at him, or did he just want to remain completely uncomplicated? Did he kick at a stone, turning his head away? Or in that same breath, did he feel the strength of a man? Did he feel self-pity for himself? Did part of him think: please look at me? Did that manly part think: look at me?

Well, in this breath she took, she felt the strength of a woman, the strength that would help her endure this. Her heart skipped a few beats and she felt envy more than she'd ever felt it in her life. More than when her Mama held a newborn baby Souta in her arms. More than when she'd seen them kiss. No, this hurt.

He loved her.

He still loved her.

_It's not just sentimental, no, no, no_

_She has her grief and care, yeah yeah yeah_

_But the soft words, they are spoke so gentle, yeah_

_It makes it easier, easier to bear, yeah_

She didn't run. A twig cracked softly, she seen his sensitive ears perk at the sound. He sniffled slightly. Did her tears smell like Kikyo's? Did he know which was which? She didn't run, she walked. Part of her thought: please come after me, please show me you care. Another part of her thought: don't you dare even have the audacity to look me in the eye or come anywhere near me ever again.

She found a quiet place. Not a place where she could hear him say I love you to Kikyo. But a place where her racing thoughts spoke to her, made her go even crazier by the second. The 'please come after me, please show me you care' part was winning.

So she waited.

He was there in a split second, it seemed.

"It's not what you think," he told her softly, coming to sit down next to her on the damp little patch of grass she'd found for herself. No, she didn't want to share. "So yell at me. Scream. Sit me six feet under, Kagome. Just say something."

"It's funny, I used to have so much to say." She laughed bitterly, hugging her knees to her chest.

He was being so gentle as he smoothed his fingertips under her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his.

Fierceness. What did that mean? Did that mean he was trying? "You made a promise to me," he reminded her. "You promised to stay with me, no matter what."

"You think I'm going to break that promise over what I just heard, Yasha?" Kagome asked him skeptically. "Oh, you've got me misunderstood. I'm not stupid and I'm not selfish. It's not just about you, even though you're the only one I've ever loved," she blushed when she said that, but it wasn't like he didn't know. She didn't have anything else to lose. Her heart was completely broken. "This is about redemption, about vengeance, even though I'm not a fan of that. It's what you want, so it's what I want, too. It's about sticking together no matter what. And this? It's just another brick in the wall."

"But you don't understand, Kagome, you take things the wrong way and-"

"I know what I heard, Inuyasha. I know what I seen. And it's not like my heart hasn't been broken all along so-"

"That time you seen that kiss? I didn't kiss her. She kissed me." He told her simply, forcing her to meet his eyes again.

"You kissed."

"I didn't kiss back."

"You kissed."

His lips were on hers in an instant, and before she had anytime to respond, anytime to process anything, anytime to actually feel his lips, to memorize their shape and how lovely they felt and cherish this moment forever, as disgusting as she felt for that, she didn't have the time. He pulled away from her so quickly that she didn't even have time to enjoy it, time to repel, time to shove him away. Even though she could never push Inuyasha away.

He was panting as if he'd just fought off fifty demons, his eyes dark, lusty.

"It was outta nowhere, wench. You didn't have time to do anything. You hardly had time to process what was going on. You didn't have time to memorize, to push me away."

Her cheeks were blood red and she desperately wanted to memorize, not push him away.

"Again," she told him, her voice low and pleading, tears running down her red cheeks. She reached for him.

He caught her, held her there, against him. Tender.

"We're not on that right now. We're talking about your misunderstanding."

She nodded, burying her head into his shoulder, tears wetting his fire rat as she noisily inhaled his scent, acknowledged the fact that he was _here _right now with _her_, not the walking dead. Acknowledging the fact that he was _trying_, and she was trying too, she was trying so hard.

"Do you believe there's a difference between loving someone and being in love with them, wench?" He asked her so softly and gently and tenderly, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine, and she wouldn't have this any other way.

_You won't regret it, no, no_

_Some girls they don't forget it_

_Love is their only happiness, yeah_

_But it's all so easy_

_All you gotta do is try, try a little tenderness, yeah_

_All you gotta do is, man, hold her where you want her_

She looked up at him finally, her face blotchy. "Yes, of course."

He looked away, out into the night. His face hardened and his body tensing, but he pulled her closer. "Do you trust me?"

"I trust you with all my heart, Inuyasha. You'd never let anything happen to me, I know this," she cupped his cheek, leaning in close, still wanting to feel those lips on hers, memorize them, taste them, have that memory in her heart forever. Her heart was racing and her mind was hazy and he made her want to throw him to the ground and cradle him, wrap both legs around his midsection. Not intimacy, just to feel close enough.

"Do you think you can be in love with someone without trusting them?" he asked her shyly.

She thought about it for a while. Then she shook her head and looked him right in the eyes. "Do you trust _me_, Inuyasha?"

"I trust you wholeheartedly, and I never meant to hurt you, you know that," he looked away, shaking his head before looking down to his lap. "I've got you, so why do I need her? Why do I need someone who never showed me an ounce of love? I'm stupid, I know, Kagome. I'm the stupidest person I know. And she wants me to die, she wants me to go to hell with her because it's her fate, and I'm starting to think it's not mine. It's not. I love her, but I'm not _in love _with her. But even after you fall out of love with somebody, no matter how much hate is in your heart for them, I still think you love them. You love them for the lessons they taught you. For the things they put you through. You love them for making you stronger."

He pressed his nose close against hers, and she closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around him and he hesitantly wrapped his around her. So tenderly, so sweetly, he kissed her nose, kissed her cheek, kissed her collarbone, buried his face into her shoulder just as she did he.

"I need you," his voice was shaky but he spoke the truth. "_I need you_. Please don't ever leave me, Kagome."

She held him close, realizing that he had just as much turmoil buried inside as she did.

"Don't you ever think about that," she rocked him, holding his close, fingers gently strumming through his hair. His arms were wrapped tightly around her, and at that moment, she realized that he really did need her.

"It's possible. I'm not in love with Kikyo, but I don't regret us. She led me to _you_. You made me strong, Kagome, and I can't lose you now. The men in your time, Kouga, Naraku, the well, Kikyo, your world, my world. They could **all** _tear us apart_."

Her heart broke and she took a shaky breath. "You're the only one I want. Nobody else matters."

He held her closer, and he was crying. She couldn't hear it, she could feel it.

"Have you ever left me alone, Inuyasha?" she asked him quietly after a while.

He lifted his face, let his eyes meet hers. Put all his emotions on display, just because he knew that was what she needed to see. Because he _trusted _her.

_Squeeze her, don't tease her, never leave her_

_Get to her, try, try_

_Just try a little tenderness, ooh yeah yeah yeah_

_You got to know how to love her, man, you'll be surprised, man_

_You've got to squeeze her, don't tease her, never leave_

He shook his head.

She smiled sadly, hoping he'd understand. He leaned forward slowly, so this wouldn't be unexpected, but so this would be perfect and exactly what she wanted. His lips caught hers, slow and steady. His mouth moving against hers, his taste exquisite, all she'd ever wanted, all she'd been waiting for since she first seen him. All she'd hoped for, all she'd dreamed about. She memorized the shape of his lips, and she took her time and so did he. Tenderness. This wasn't ending anytime soon.

_Try a little tenderness, ooh yeah yeah yeah_

_You've got to rub her gentle man, all you gotta do, no no _

_You've got to love her, squeeze her, don't tease her_

_Gotta try nah nah nah, try_

_Try a little tenderness, yeah, watch her groove_

_You've gotta to know what to do, man_

_Take this advice_

**A/N: I love one-shots! This was rushed, I finished in just an hour. I wanted something short, sweet, and simple. Review if you liked it, review if you loved it. Also, I'm working on the next chapter for All I Need, and for The Real Her. Sorry I've been MIA. Show love, please.**


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